Top 10 Tips to Detect a Lie

Every fraudster uses lies to hide the truth. Most are comfortable with lying because they have rationalized their behavior. Over the past several weeks, I have been writing about lies—from the five truths about lying to the reasons people lie. These blog posts provide a foundational knowledge to help you evaluate a person’s willingness to lie, an important skill in identifying and investigating fraud.

Here are ten tips to help you detect lies:

1. The use of filler words or repeating the question allows extra time for the liar to develop their lies. These words could include “like,” “you know,” “um,” “okay,” “ah,” or “uh.”
2. Asking another question, rather than answering the question asked, is a tactic used by liars to distract from answering the question asked or as an attempt to put the pressure back on the person asking the questions. As an example, “Why are you asking me these questions?”
3. Stressing the truth is a way a liar can convince themselves they are not lying. The phrases a person may use could include “to be completely honest with you,” “the truth is…,” or “I’m telling the truth.”
4. Removing contractions to certain words can provide comfort to the person telling the lie because they want to be clear that their lie is the truth. A president once famously said, “I did NOT have sexual relations with that woman.”
5. Denying accountability by disconnecting. If you ask, “Did you steal the money?” most liars would respond, “I did not do it,” rather than just answering, “No.”
6. A person’s statements contradict their nonverbal movements. If someone is describing that they are sorry, but they are smiling, then they are probably not telling the truth. Another example is when a person shakes their head from side to side, while answering, “Yes” to a question or vice versa.
7. Setting up a physical barrier between them and the person asking the question. When the stress level of an interview increases, a person may put a pen or book on the table between them and the other person. This is to help them feel protected when they tell a lie.
8. Eye movement and blinking can provide an indication of lying. People may change their eye movement when they are telling a lie—that is, they may look up or look away or make direct eye contact when they’re telling the lie. A person may also increase their blinking or blink longer—even close their eyes—as they tell a lie.
9. A change in cadence, tone or voice inflection can also indicate that a person is lying. Going back to the “I did NOT have sexual relations with that woman” declaration, there was a clear change in cadence when he clearly annunciated each word individually with a slight pause between each word.
10. Finally, if a person’s nose starts to grow, this is a clear indication that they are lying to you. I learned this from watching Pinocchio as a child.

When evaluating nonverbal cues, you must have a good understanding of a person’s baseline behavior. This understanding will allow you to identify variations from the baseline. These variations are the indications of a potential lie.

These tips are only a roadmap to lie detection. You must be careful when evaluating the answers someone gives you. Cues can be misinterpreted because human behavior—like lying—can be unpredictable. In next week’s blog, I will provide tips for uncovering the truth.

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